Men's basketball: LCC wins three straight

Published: Monday, November 18, 2013 at 11:55 PM.

Smith finished with a game-high 22 points Saturday, adding four rebounds and two blocks.

George had 20 points, six rebounds and an assist for the Lancers.

“It started off with our defense and moving our feet,” George said of LCC’s effort Saturday. “Moving your feet will you get easy buckets on offense.”

The Lancers remained in high gear after starting the half with Antuawn Smith’s steal and easy layup on the breakaway that made the score 60-37.

The Lancers would just extend the lead further in the second half of the game, going up by 30 on a pair of Antuawn Smith free throws. He finished with 12 points, as did Joshua Hill.

LCC broke 100 on a shot from sophomore guard Rodzavien Crowell, who, under a minute later, dunked the ball to give the Lancers their final score and push Mt. Olive JV to 0-3.

“Playing slow actually helped us,” MOC JV coach Joey Higginnbotham said. “When we sped up to their tempo, that’s when they started to pull away from us, no question. … We played their way and we lost.”

“When we went to full-court man, that really got (the game) in our tempo,” LCC coach Bobby Dawson said. “They had some great shooters; we just had to stay in their face. I thought we did a good job of moving the ball and hitting the open man.”

After LCC (3-0) tied a game featuring early lead changes at 22 with Larry George’s turnaround jumper off his own rebound, the Lancers’ led the rest of the game. The Trojans were able to scramble within a six-point deficit in the first half, but LCC quickly climbed ahead by using seamless ball movement to continuously find open shots.

LCC went on a 13-1 run before jumping to a 50-33 lead in the first half. Jeremy Smith’s fade away at the halftime buzzer put the Lancers at 54-35 before the break.

Smith finished with a game-high 22 points Saturday, adding four rebounds and two blocks.

George had 20 points, six rebounds and an assist for the Lancers.

“It started off with our defense and moving our feet,” George said of LCC’s effort Saturday. “Moving your feet will you get easy buckets on offense.”

The Lancers remained in high gear after starting the half with Antuawn Smith’s steal and easy layup on the breakaway that made the score 60-37.

The Lancers would just extend the lead further in the second half of the game, going up by 30 on a pair of Antuawn Smith free throws. He finished with 12 points, as did Joshua Hill.

LCC broke 100 on a shot from sophomore guard Rodzavien Crowell, who, under a minute later, dunked the ball to give the Lancers their final score and push Mt. Olive JV to 0-3.

“Playing slow actually helped us,” MOC JV coach Joey Higginnbotham said. “When we sped up to their tempo, that’s when they started to pull away from us, no question. … We played their way and we lost.”

The Lancers totaled 13 assists, while James Owens led his team with 11 rebounds, adding eight points.

LCC hosts Stevens Prep Wednesday.

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.